2 Foreign NGOs Deemed 'Undesirable' in Russia

The decision to deem the two organizations “undesirable” was based on a request to inspect organizations included in the so-called “patriotic stop-list.”

Two foreign NGOs — the George Soros' Open Society Foundation and the Open Society Institute's Assistance Foundation — were declared “undesirable” by the Prosecutor General's Office on Monday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Prosecutor General's Office spokeswoman Maria Gridneva.

“[It is] determined that activities of the Open Society Foundation and the OSI Assistance Foundation are endangering Russia's constitutional system and national security,” Gridneva was cited by Interfax as saying Monday.

She stated that the decision to deem the two organizations “undesirable” was based on a request made by the Federation Council — the upper chamber of Russian parliament — to the Prosecutor General's Office, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov, to inspect organizations included in the so-called “patriotic stop-list.”

This is a list of NGOs whose work, according to the Federation Council, poses a threat to national security, and who should thus be declared "undesirable" and prohibited from operating in the country.

The list, issued in July, consisted of seven American organizations, including the Open Society Foundation, two Ukrainian diaspora groups, two Polish NGOs and an obscure rights group based in the annexed Crimean Peninsula.